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Valley National Bancorp To Acquire 1st United Bancorp, Inc. And Enhance Its Growth Opportunities By Expanding Into Desirable Florida Urban Banking Markets

WAYNE, N.J. and
BOCA RATON, Fla.,
May 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Boards of Directors of Valley National Bancorp ("Valley")
(NYSE: VLY) and 1
st United Bancorp, Inc. ("1
st United")
(Nasdaq: FUBC) announced today that the companies have entered into a merger agreement whereby the common shareholders of 1
st United will receive 0.89 of a share of Valley common stock for each 1
st United share they own, subject to adjustment in the event Valley's average stock price falls below
$8.09 or rises above
$12.13 prior to closing. The transaction is valued at an estimated
$312 million, based on Valley's closing stock price on
May 5, 2014 (and includes the cash consideration that will be paid to 1
st United stock option holders).

1
st United, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, 1
st United Bank, with approximately
$1.7 billion in assets,
$1.2 billion in loans, and
$1.4 billion in deposits, has a 21 branch network covering the most attractive urban banking markets in
Florida, including locations throughout southeast
Florida, the Treasure Coast, central
Florida and central Gulf Coast regions. This bold and unique expansion opportunity will provide an entrée for Valley into
Florida's high growth market, beyond its traditional Northeastern regional footprint. 1
st United's experienced management team will join Valley to lead its continued expansion efforts in
Florida, and complement Valley's growth initiatives in the
New Jersey and
New York Metropolitan markets. Valley's decision to enter the
Florida market was due to, among other things, Valley's sizable residential mortgage and automobile lending platforms, past real estate and consumer lending experience in the
Florida markets, as well as bolstered by the following attractive key demographics and facts about
Florida:

The 4 th largest population in the U.S. (projected to be 3 rd largest by 2015);

The 21 st largest economy in the world & 4 th largest GDP in the U.S.;

Personal income ranked 1 st in the Southeast; and

A high level of organic and bank acquisition expansion opportunities.

Valley anticipates that the merger with 1
st United will be a non-taxable transaction. The combined company is expected to have approximately
$18.1 billion in assets,
$12.9 billion in loans,
$12.7 billion in deposits, 225 branches covering northern and central
New Jersey,
New York (including
Manhattan,
Brooklyn,
Queens and
Long Island), and southeast and central
Florida.

"Valley has always employed a highly focused geographic growth strategy based on creating long-term shareholder value, however, we ultimately welcomed this tremendous opportunity to expand into one of the premiere growth markets of
the United States," remarked Valley Chairman, President & CEO
Gerald H. Lipkin. Mr. Lipkin added, "1
st United is currently the seventh largest publicly-held bank headquartered in
Florida by deposits, and shares a similar corporate culture to Valley. With its middle market commercial corporate emphasis, 1
st United has an experienced and conservative banking team, and strong core deposit and capital bases.
Rudy Schupp, 1
st United's CEO, with the support of their Board of Directors led by Chairman
Warren Orlando along with President and Chief Financial Officer
John Marino, have done an excellent job of opportunistically expanding the 1
st United franchise since 2003. We are excited about their team's competitive positioning and attractive client base. With this merger, we add a well-positioned institution located in regions of
Florida with very strong demographics that should provide us the necessary springboard for the initial introduction of the Valley brand, as well as a strong foundation for future growth opportunities. We would like to extend our warmest welcome to the 1
st United Shareholders, customers, and employees and we look forward to you joining the Valley family."

The Boards of Directors of both companies after extensive review and due diligence have unanimously approved the transaction. Transaction closing is anticipated early in the fourth quarter of 2014, subject to approvals from regulators, 1
st United shareholder approval of the merger and Valley shareholder approval of an amendment of its certificate of incorporation to increase its authorized common shares, as well as other customary conditions.

Commenting on the announcement, 1
st United's CEO
Rudy Schupp stated, "We at 1
st United are excited about combining with Valley and the opportunity it provides our shareholders, customers, and employees. Valley's substantial resources, similar culture, additional commercial and consumer product lines, and shared growth aspirations, combined with our team of
Florida bankers, will provide the valuable ingredients needed to expand the
Florida franchise for Valley to levels that we expect will make a tremendous contribution to Valley's future results."

Terms of Agreement

Under the terms of the definitive agreement signed by the companies, each 1
st United shareholder will receive 0.89 shares of Valley National Bancorp common stock for each share of 1
st United common stock. In the event Valley's average share price during the 20 business day period ending 5 days prior to closing is less than
$8.09, then Valley will increase the 0.89 exchange ratio so that 1
st United shareholders receive
$7.20 in Valley common stock or
$7.20 in Valley common stock and cash for each 1
st United share they hold. In the event Valley's average share price during the 20 business day period ending 5 days prior to closing is greater than
$12.13, then Valley will decrease the 0.89 exchange ratio so that 1
st United shareholders receive
$10.80 in Valley common stock for each 1
st United share they hold.

Valley has successfully completed six bank and branch network acquisitions over the last ten years. Each merger was completed efficiently and with no disruption to the existing customer service.